Letters to the editor - Dec. 31

In the Dec. 27 Sun-News, was a guest column by state Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, “Explaining REAL ID, licenses, passport fairs.” Approximately three-fourths of the way through the article was this sentence, “Drivers will need to show new proof of their lawful U.S. status by going to an MVD office in person and presenting several original documents for inspection: a passport or a birth certificate; a Social Security card, and proof of residence with at least two supporting documents.”

My question is this, won’t these requirements disenfranchise drivers? If you must present these documents, for a driver’s license, why can you not produce them to vote? Why do the legislators fight it for voting?

Charlie Mullin,

Las Cruces

Good riddance 2015, hopes for better 2016

If I could, I’d give 2015 a swift kick in the pants as it made way for 2016. Consider what went on during the year now ending: a mother who gave her six-month-old child a bottle, then suited up and joined her husband on a killing spree at a holiday party; a group of thugs in the Middle East who “inspire” others, (not themselves, oddly enough), to blow themselves up in various parts of the world expecting to get to paradise before anyone else; “low information voters” who become low information candidates for president of the U.S. — along with assorted sneerers and overstuffed billionaires. You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried.

How about the “smart money” guys of 2015 who pride themselves on sending young people out on international soccer and (U.S.) football fields to beat their brains out to generate bribes, payoffs and lucrative TV contracts for their handlers. Or the characters who buy up drug companies to enrich themselves on the pain and suffering of others — not to mention congressmen enjoying the best medical care in the world seeking to deny health care to the working poor.

How about the makers and marketers of the guns spewing ammunition out of car windows; within classrooms, clinics, hospitals and churches; into playmates from other playmates; and, at close range, into the bodies of tortured souls afflicted with suicidal impulses.

Finally, 2015 saw another bump in the profits of predatory loan stores now on street corners around poor neighborhoods and military bases — so much for military preparedness.

On Dec. 24, Jim Harbison wrote his final column for the Sun-News, in which he stated, “Our community, state, and nation are so politically polarized that we are no longer able to have civil public discourse. We no longer accept or condone differing opinions and have lost the ability to compromise. Naively, I had hoped that writing a column would encourage that discourse. ...”

Really? Whether you have agreed with him or not, did anyone out there ever read one of Mr. Harbison’s politically oriented columns (which almost all were) and come away with the impression that he was trying to further the goals of civil public discourse and compromise? Anyone? Ever?

Steve Becker,

Las Cruces

EPE’s doublespeak on

solar energy providers

I opened my El Paso Electric bill and was surprised to see a picture of a field of solar panels and an article touting the benefits of alternative energy in the newsletter insert. Why did this surprise me? Because EPE attempts to penalize those with rooftop solar panels.

When our panels are producing, they send electricity to the grid, which EPE sells to other customers at retail, while buying from us wholesale. We reduce the demand on the grid by producing most of our needs on site. The power EPE resells reduces local usage, thus reducing overall demand on EPE’s major infrastructure. Rooftop solar also helps EPE meet its alternative energy requirements, reducing EPE’s need for more infrastructure.

We are not making great sums of money from EPE and we still pay a monthly fee to access their grid, just like any other EPE customer. However, I marvel at EPEs supposed commitment to alternative energy sources while expressing a negative attitude toward solar panel owners who end up providing additional electricity to EPE’s grid. Fortunately, the PRC recently rejected EPE’s request to establish a new rate class for solar customers. But what’s next, higher rates for customers who buy energy efficient appliances or turn off lights when they leave the room?